ESPN MLB Insider Gives Milwaukee Brewers Inferior Trade Grade

The Milwaukee Brewers entered a six-player trade with the Boston Red Sox on Monday to conclude the offseason that saw Brewers third baseman Caleb Durbin, infielder Andruw Monasterio and sophomore utility man Anthony Seigler go to Boston in exchange for left handers Kyle Harrison and Shane Drohan as well as infielder David Hamilton.

In the aftermath of the move, I constructed a pros and cons list for the Brewers surrounding who they are giving up and who they are getting back in return. Now, it is time to identify what ESPN MLB insiders Bradford Doolittle and David Schoenfield had to say about the deal.

In the trade grades, Schoenfield took the reins and gave Boston the edge with an A-minus. Meanwhile, Milwaukee got a B-minus.

Schoenfield made it clear from the jump that he understands why Milwaukee chose to make the deal, given the abundance of talented prospects waiting in the wings for their chance at the MLB roster.

Two such players are Jesus Made, the No. 3 prospect on the top 100 list of ESPN MLB prospect analyst Kiley McDaniel, and Jett Williams, a top prospect acquired by the Brewers in the Freddy Peralta trade. Williams is No. 32 on McDaniel’s list.

Made has been described by McDaniel as an “almost unbelievably gifted, unique player whose ceiling isn't even clear yet.” According to McDaniel, the 18-year-old Made has traits similar to five-time All-Star Francisco Lindor.

The 2025 season served as Durbin’s rookie season, so it is not as if he is a seasoned veteran. But, according to Schoenfield, Durbin “was eventually going to get squeezed out of a job by a player with a higher ceiling anyway.”

Williams was described by Schoenfield as Milwaukee's prospect that is most ready for the majors but also acknowledged his lack of experience playing third base. I discussed the possibility of Joey Ortiz moving back to third base, which would open a spot for Williams to play shortstop, but these are hypothetical situations.

On the pitching side of things, Harrison looks like he will be a young reclamation project after posting some shaky numbers in MLB and the minors. At 24 years old, he has enough youth on his side to allow plenty of time to improve, and Milwaukee has a knack for maximizing its pitching talent.

Schoenfield listed Drohan with the superior arm over Harrison. However, he has an injury history with his shoulder and forearm.

Schoenfield concluded by raising concern over the Brewers’ offensive capabilities at shortstop and third base. Pitching is taken care of, but production at the plate from those two positions could be troublesome.

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